Feed aggregator

While Husker Harvest Days won’t be in person this year, Nebraska Extension is still planning a variety of presentations for this year’s virtual experience. Nebraskans are quite creative in developing successful endeavors, particularly in times of need. With a struggling farm economy and the unknowns of the spread of viral infections, there is special emphasis on cultivating new opportunities to improve the lives of Nebraskans.

The state’s largest solar farm – located just west of Lincoln off Interstate 80 – features 15,333 solar panels on 30 acres. Developed by the Lincoln Electric System and completed in June 2016, it generates approximately 5 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 900 typical homes in Lincoln. (Photo by John Hay) Renewable energy has increased significantly in recent years and the number of wind farms and the size of wind turbines are a visual reminder of renewable development. Due to higher development cost, solar electric systems, also called solar photovoltaic (PV), have lagged in commercial electric development.

After a year of record flooding over much of the state, we are now in various stages of drought. With limited rainfall over most of the state this year and fairly extended hot, dry periods, many irrigators may be wondering when is the irrigation season going to end?

Tuesday, September 1, 2020

Fully utilizing a pasture doesn’t mean it should look like a golf course. If good grass is seen in the pasture when moving to another pasture, that is usually a good thing; that’s proper management. Even during drought or drier years, management can be done well. Trying to push pasture during drought years is especially hard on pasture and can have detrimental long-term effects. Many of our pastures are very resilient and have been through very tough times. Repeat or severe abuse will take over that resiliency.

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Tuesday, September 1, 2020

Animal manures can be a “valuable asset” or a “pain in the assets”.  The right amounts in the right location can be very beneficial to Nebraska’s crop, soil, and water resources.  Too much manure or manure in the wrong place is an environmental concern. Our ability to place manure where its benefits are maximized and to manage manure so that its challenges are minimal is important to agriculture’s sustainability.

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Tuesday, September 1, 2020 Pasture mature and brown early due to drought?Spanish: 

Tags can help you glean information from your Quicken file without complicating your category list. This article discusses how to get started with tags, and how to use them to enhance your financial records.

The most recent survey included perspectives from 1,172 farmers representing every state and included a detailed exploration of “planting green” as well as crop insurance use among cover croppers.

Tuesday, September 1, 2020

Previous research has shown the benefit of pregnancy diagnosis and how it adds to a producer’s bottom line. Keeping one cow over winter can cost $100-$200 in feed and supplements so removing open cows can help decrease winter feed costs. Pregnancy diagnosis is a very valuable tool in the beef industry and it is grossly underutilized. Only about 20% of producers employ some sort of a pregnancy diagnosis in their herd. Producers have options for pregnancy determination that vary in price and difficulty- transrectal palpation, transrectal ultrasound, and a blood test.

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End guns are a very common feature on center pivots in certain areas. (Photo by Steve Melvin) End guns have been on center pivots from almost the beginning and the merits of their use have been debated about as long. Some farmers would not have a pivot without an end gun and others would not have a pivot with one.

Tuesday, September 1, 2020

Fall is the time of year when many cow-calf producers make their replacement heifer selections and begin planning for the development of those heifers into bred females. The following are tips for selecting and developing replacement heifers.

Selection

The following are suggestions for replacement heifer selection from Dr. Jim Gosey, Beef Specialist and Professor Emeritus at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The first thing Dr. Gosey suggests is removing heifers that are:

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Tuesday, September 1, 2020

Two research studies at the University of Nebraska by Dr. Rick Funston, beef reproductive physiologist at the West Central Research and Extension Center, suggest that the key information needed to identify heifers most likely to be successful as replacements is known the day the heifers are born.

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The goal of record-keeping is to be able to access the information you need quickly. This starts with a filing system that is tailored to the needs of your farm or ranch.

Wednesday, August 19, 2020 Setting the Stage 

Even before storing, producers can give hay a better chance to make it from the field to the cow with as little loss as possible. Baling at correct moisture levels will lead to proper curing without additional heat, mold growth, and dry matter loss. Bales should maintain moisture levels below 20% for this to happen. 

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Tuesday, September 1, 2020

With much of the eastern and western borders of Nebraska in a drought, producers with fall calving cows need to be especially mindful of body condition on fall calving cows. In Nebraska, most fall calving herds actually start calving sometime in August. This allows producers to take advantage of late summer grass as a forage resource with ample protein and energy for the newly lactating cow. However, the hot dry conditions this year have left many pastures not only short on dry matter tonnage, but also short on the nutrient density required to maintain the lactating cow.

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Corn condition is rated 73% good to excellent, 88% dough and 29% dented. Soybean condition is rated 76% good to excellent, 90% setting pods and 2% starting to drop leaves. Dry edible beans are rated 69% good to excellent, 83% setting pods and 7% dropping leaves, according to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service.